Everything you described is spot on. I own both the SBR Rocker Pro and a Kickr'18 + Climb and it felt really weird when standing up, indeed. Your suggestion to engage upper body is not only correct but it's also a good thing to do in order to increase the fitness gains.
Another great review and thoughts in this video. I appreciate the focus on lean timing when standing. It parallels much of what I have covered in my videos and discussion. The tendency is for people to be too "passive" and just put pressure through the pedals. One key to proper timing is taking an "active" roll with the handlebars. It is the same basic effort and motion we apply outside. If we didn't, we would fall over on the low-side foot. I think Tariq did great job of explaining the motion and effort from the rider that helps make timing more correct. I have a few other designs I hope to build and see if I can get that motion to be more natural and automatic. I will share results if I get something better. I look forward to more solutions from others that are also attempting to improve rocker plate design and use. Fun times.
Great video but has one error - the lateral movement is not what keeps you from falling over when riding outside. Allowing the saddle to move laterally may increase comfort, but that's as far as it goes. What keeps the bike upright is the rotation of the wheels and the gyroscopic affect this creates in combination with the steering geometry.
great vid! i have a 1st gen rockr from these guys... just the smaller one, not full length of the bike. overall the product sbr makes is great... good quality. i have noticed the tubes they used early on have a tendency to get splinters and trash that cause flats. it was probably why they went to these balls.
Hi Tariq great video....... how does your power compare with vs without rocker plate (ideally on an FTP or RAMP test)? ....................I suspect lower power with the plate
Comparing FTP tests using different apps or trainers seem to be a popular request lately 🤣 I am not a fan of comparing two separate FTP tests because of so many uncontrollable variables that can play into effect and skew the results. For example, the past week or so, holding tempo pace has been tough because I’ve been increasing my running and swimming plus my sleep hasn’t been the best. If you know of a way where I can run two separate FTP tests and feel good about the results, I’m all ears. Having said that, I can probably say with confidence that I feel best holding power on my InsideRide rollers than any other stationary trainer out there with or without rocker plates. At the same time, I’ve had people tell me the complete opposite who tried the InsideRide rollers 🤷🏻♂️
Great review. I built my own rockr plate similar to the one you demonstrated. You need to be carful with the inflatable balls as they can and do pop which you can imagine is a disaster waiting to happen. I have come up with a fail safe idea in case the balls pop. I love the rockr plate and wouldn’t ride with out it 👍🏻
Over the years, we at Inside Ride have built all kinds of experimental motion setups, including many versions of rocker plates for standard trainers. Our motto should be "We try crazy things so you don't have to". As far as we could tell, the Kurt RR already had the essential features that subsequent rockers have incorporated into their platforms, so there's not anything substantially new in the rocker world. There are endless theories about small improvements (including Tariq's mention of lateral motion) that might make rockers feel natural, but it's unlikely any of these things will make any significant difference. As Tariq's videos imply, and as Shane Miller has stated, rocker plates are not as natural and intuitive as they should be. Tariq also made it clear that the method of controlling tilt through the steering geometry does indeed feel more natural. It's worth noting that Tariq is the only one in the public eye with experience on rockers and with Inside Ride's floating fork system. What he has not yet tried is our latest prototype ( photos.app.goo.gl/AGgVrkbfRamgdvXE9 ), which is not a roller, but a simple combination of a Kickr/ rocker and a floating fork mount for a complete 3 dimensional platform. This system incorporates the 2 key elements that we feel makes all the difference: Fore/aft motion and steering-controlled tilt. Even though it does not feature lateral motion, there's no difference in feel between this setup and the FFS rollers shown on Tariq's video.
No I did not have one on hand to try out. I did cover it here though: www.smartbiketrainers.com/insideride-shows-off-the-e-flex-motion-system-for-the-kickr-smart-trainer-9008
Would like to have seen you set up the Kickr on the rocker and talk us through that setup. Chip needs to address the paint issue. Hopefully you addressed that with him. Not much detail on improved comfort or not. Follow up video?
The setup is really simple and instructions are included. As for comfort, overall I think it does make the ride better as I mentioned in the video and relive some saddle pressure. I find it best when seated and doing intervals. Hoping to do a long term review as I get a chance to use it more.
Thanks for watching! Have you been on a ROCKER Plate? What do you think of them? Comment below!
Everything you described is spot on. I own both the SBR Rocker Pro and a Kickr'18 + Climb and it felt really weird when standing up, indeed. Your suggestion to engage upper body is not only correct but it's also a good thing to do in order to increase the fitness gains.
Another great review and thoughts in this video. I appreciate the focus on lean timing when standing. It parallels much of what I have covered in my videos and discussion. The tendency is for people to be too "passive" and just put pressure through the pedals. One key to proper timing is taking an "active" roll with the handlebars. It is the same basic effort and motion we apply outside. If we didn't, we would fall over on the low-side foot.
I think Tariq did great job of explaining the motion and effort from the rider that helps make timing more correct. I have a few other designs I hope to build and see if I can get that motion to be more natural and automatic. I will share results if I get something better. I look forward to more solutions from others that are also attempting to improve rocker plate design and use. Fun times.
Really enjoyed this. Totally get the rocking element with opposing forces missing. I'm very keen to build my own rocker plate now!
im a simple man , i see a upload from smart bike trainer
and i disable addblocker and give a thumbs up before starting watching the video
Great video but has one error - the lateral movement is not what keeps you from falling over when riding outside. Allowing the saddle to move laterally may increase comfort, but that's as far as it goes. What keeps the bike upright is the rotation of the wheels and the gyroscopic affect this creates in combination with the steering geometry.
great vid!
i have a 1st gen rockr from these guys... just the smaller one, not full length of the bike. overall the product sbr makes is great... good quality. i have noticed the tubes they used early on have a tendency to get splinters and trash that cause flats. it was probably why they went to these balls.
Hi Tariq great video....... how does your power compare with vs without rocker plate (ideally on an FTP or RAMP test)? ....................I suspect lower power with the plate
Comparing FTP tests using different apps or trainers seem to be a popular request lately 🤣
I am not a fan of comparing two separate FTP tests because of so many uncontrollable variables that can play into effect and skew the results. For example, the past week or so, holding tempo pace has been tough because I’ve been increasing my running and swimming plus my sleep hasn’t been the best. If you know of a way where I can run two separate FTP tests and feel good about the results, I’m all ears.
Having said that, I can probably say with confidence that I feel best holding power on my InsideRide rollers than any other stationary trainer out there with or without rocker plates. At the same time, I’ve had people tell me the complete opposite who tried the InsideRide rollers 🤷🏻♂️
Great review.
I built my own rockr plate similar to the one you demonstrated. You need to be carful with the inflatable balls as they can and do pop which you can imagine is a disaster waiting to happen.
I have come up with a fail safe idea in case the balls pop. I love the rockr plate and wouldn’t ride with out it 👍🏻
I guess that’s what that 3rd ball is for 😬
Over the years, we at Inside Ride have built all kinds of experimental motion setups, including many versions of rocker plates for standard trainers. Our motto should be "We try crazy things so you don't have to".
As far as we could tell, the Kurt RR already had the essential features that subsequent rockers have incorporated into their platforms, so there's not anything substantially new in the rocker world. There are endless theories about small improvements (including Tariq's mention of lateral motion) that might make rockers feel natural, but it's unlikely any of these things will make any significant difference.
As Tariq's videos imply, and as Shane Miller has stated, rocker plates are not as natural and intuitive as they should be. Tariq also made it clear that the method of controlling tilt through the steering geometry does indeed feel more natural. It's worth noting that Tariq is the only one in the public eye with experience on rockers and with Inside Ride's floating fork system.
What he has not yet tried is our latest prototype ( photos.app.goo.gl/AGgVrkbfRamgdvXE9 ), which is not a roller, but a simple combination of a Kickr/ rocker and a floating fork mount for a complete 3 dimensional platform. This system incorporates the 2 key elements that we feel makes all the difference: Fore/aft motion and steering-controlled tilt.
Even though it does not feature lateral motion, there's no difference in feel between this setup and the FFS rollers shown on Tariq's video.
Did you try the inside ride E flexer
No I did not have one on hand to try out. I did cover it here though: www.smartbiketrainers.com/insideride-shows-off-the-e-flex-motion-system-for-the-kickr-smart-trainer-9008
Would like to have seen you set up the Kickr on the rocker and talk us through that setup. Chip needs to address the paint issue. Hopefully you addressed that with him. Not much detail on improved comfort or not. Follow up video?
The setup is really simple and instructions are included. As for comfort, overall I think it does make the ride better as I mentioned in the video and relive some saddle pressure. I find it best when seated and doing intervals. Hoping to do a long term review as I get a chance to use it more.
If you had a THIRD plate, you would ride like outside